Myra asks which brand of  AIM to use in a situation where it WILL be
used (with or without our "blessing").  I refer them back to baby's
PHC.  AIM should be considered a "medication" (this is why some
hospitals consider it a med error if a BF baby is given AIM without
specific justification!) and not in our realm of juristiction.  If a
mom asks general questions, e.g. "Is soy better?" then I will
discuss the concerns about soy in general.  When a mom asks "Is
there any difference between brands?" or "Is one brand better than
another?"  I will use the analogy "Saying one is closer to breast
milk than another is like saying Waukesha is closer to Honolulu than
Milwaukee." (for those of you not familiar with Wisconsin, Waukesha
is about 25 miles west of Milwaukeewhich is several thousand miles
from Hawaii).  If I know a mom is on WIC, I will mention to her
which one our local WIC uses, but I don't tell her specifically to
use that one.
On occasion I will resort to giving a baby AIM during an outpatient
consult (oh no, does that mean I will be forced to wear a scarlet
"F" on my chest?).  For example, a baby comes in with a significant
weight loss: first we have the mom pump, but rule # 1 is "Feed the
baby" and this baby desparately needs to be fed, so if mom is not
able to pump a significant quantity at that moment, we will use AIM
via whatever method seems to be called for-usually supplementing at
breast if baby will latch.  In these cases, we ask if mom has any
preference or if she has used any already for this baby.  I will use
whatever she has already used or her preference, or if neither of
the above, whichever one I happen to find in the secret stash.
Winnie Mading IBCLC

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